Generalized Hartree-Fock Approximation for the Calculation of Collective States of a Finite Many-Particle System

A finite many-particle system can have collective states for which the off-diagonal matrix elements of certain one-particle operators are of the same order of magnitude as the diagonal elements. In such cases it is suggested that the random-phase approximation is in need of generalization. Examples are the uniform translational motion of any system and the rotational motion of deformed nuclei. The generalization is suggested after a review and critical analysis of the Hartree-Fock approximation. The model single-particle wave functions of the latter are replaced by wave functions in a space labeled both by the particle variables and by the quantum numbers of the collective motion. These generalized amplitudes are defined field-theoretically, and a self-consistent scheme for their calculation is obtained from the equations of motion. In addition to the self-consistent potential defined in the enlarged space, the energies of the excited states also turn out to be given by a natural self-consistency requirement. The new calculational scheme is first applied to a systematic restudy of the random-phase approximation where the self-consistency requirement on the energies has previously been overlooked. As a first characteristic application we obtain without "pushing" the total mass of a system in uniform translation, and a reinterpretation of the Hartree-Fock average field.